Latest accounts for bike brand show bike sales and turnover continued to fall
Brompton Bicycles has said plans for a £100m factory are still on hold because of a stumbling economy.
Plans for the headquarters and factory in Kent were approved last year but the manufacturer, best known for its folding bikes, said construction would not start until 2027 because of a collapse in profits.
But a year on from getting planning, the firm’s managing director Will Butler-Adams, one of several business leaders accompanying prime minister Keir Starmer on his trip to China this week, said the scheme in Ashford was still on ice.
He told Kent Online: “While the project remains firmly on the table, it is currently on hold as we need to see a meaningful recovery in market conditions before moving forward.
“Given the scale and long‑term commitment of Ashford, it’s important that we proceed at a moment when the commercial environment is stronger and better supports the investment.”
Designed by Holloway Studio, Brompton’s new site is due to be located on a 100 acre wetlands site near Ashford.
The scheme, drawn up four years ago, will include a circular building positioned on stilts 2.2m above the flood plain which will be turned into a nature reserve open to the public.
In its last set of results filed at Companies House earlier this month, the firm said bike sales last year were down 7.5% to 78,530 which it said was down to “wider global economic uncertainty and continued challenges in the cycling industry”.
Turnover in the year to March 2025 was down by 1% to £121.4m and while income from Europe, Asia and the rest of the world was up, revenue from the UK slumped 28% to £23m. Pre-tax profit recovered to £130,500 from last year’s £4,602 but still well short of the £10.7m it posted in 2023.
At the time it unveiled its Ashford plans, Brompton said its ambition was to be able to produce more than 200,000 bikes a year and employ more than 1,500 staff. Last year staff numbers fell 6% to 790.
Holloway Studio’s design incorporates sustainable transport principles, with no new car parking spaces provided. Staff and visitors will be encouraged to travel by bike or public transport. A wide cycle path will serve as the building’s main artery, allowing cyclists to ride directly into the factory, through its interior and up to a rooftop museum.
The proposed development includes spaces for designers, creators, and a manufacturing facility all linked by an internal street.
The company’s current factory in Greenford, west London, is expected to remain operational until at least 2030.
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